Belizean drowns in midnight swim across Rio Hondo

The second death that occurred this weekend, happened further north at the Rio Hondo River. A man from Yo Creek Village, who was reveling at a bar in the Mexican village of Botes, drowned when he attempted to swim back to the Belize side. Shortly after midnight on Sunday twenty-eight year old Elias Vargas plunged into the river and never surfaced. Police say villagers along the riverbank saw when he went under. They organized a dive party to search for Vargas. Approximately five hours later, the body was retrieved. Orange Walk police visited the nearby Santa Cruz Village riverbank at about six o’clock in the morning and transported Vargas’ body to the Northern Regional Hospital. On Tuesday, the body will be transported to K.H.M.H. for a post mortem examination.